Roenick mulls retirement after being left out of Coyotes fire sale

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Roenick mulls retirement after being left out of Coyotes fire sale

The veteran forward had hoped to be dealt to a team in a playoff position. Now that he hasn't, he is thinking about calling it quits.

"I've got 19 games left and I'm enjoying myself because chances are it will be the end," he said, following Phoenix's 3-0 win over Edmonton. "I'll keep a little glimmer of hope and see how the year ends. But I'm tired and my body is beat up and it gets harder and harder every game. I'm enjoying my team and being in Arizona but I'm probably, not definitely, but I am thinking of calling it a career."

Goaltender Curtis Joseph was another Coyote who admits to some frustration being out of the playoff picture on a team looking to the future rather than the present.

"Obviously this team here's building for the future," said Joseph, who nonetheless recorded a shutout against the Oilers. "As an athlete you want to play for something. And we're not playing for much."

That was made abundantly clear when Phoenix traded their second, third and seventh leading scorers on Tuesday.

The Coyotes, who dealt forward Ladislav Nagy two weeks ago, continued to clean house on Tuesday dealing forwards Oleg Saprykin, Yanic Perreault and bruiser Georges Laraque, leaving them with barely enough players to fill up a lineup in Edmonton and no scratches for the game.

Coyotes captain Shane Doan says although it is tough to see teammates on the way out, the changes were inevitable with the way the season has gone for his team.

"It's always tough losing friends," he said. "It's never fun. Obviously we are on the outside looking in at the playoffs and you have to expect management and the organization to make moves to try and get better for the future."

While Roenick and Joseph hoped for new opportunites, Laraque got his wish, waiving a no-trade cause so he could join the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"It was a chance I couldn't turn down," he said.

The Coyotes made two other moves on deadline day as they claimed center Niko Kapanen off waivers from the Atlanta Thrashers and signed center Kevyn Adams to a one-year contract.